Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of the rheumatoid arthritis study population
| Variable | Total study sample, N = 438 (N% or mean ± SD) | BRASS patients not in our study sample, N = 733 (N% or mean ± SD) | Patients with at least one QM, N = 353 (80.6%) (N% or mean ± SD) | Patients with no QM, N = 85 (19.4%) (N% or mean ± SD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 56.9 (13.1) | 56.6 (14.7) | 56.2 (13.1) | 60.1 (12.5) |
| Gender (female) | 354 (81.0) | 608 (83.0) | 288 (81.6) | 66 (78.6) |
| Disease duration (years) | 10.8 (10.4) | 15.1 (13.0) | 10.2 (10.0) | 13.3 (11.7) |
| Disease activity score (DAS28) | 3.8 (1.6) | 4.0 (1.6) | 3.8 (1.6) | 4.1 (1.4) |
| Functional status score (MDHAQ) | 0.6 (0.5) | 0.7 (0.5) | 0.6 (0.5) | 0.6 (0.4) |
| Rheumatoid factor (RF) positive | 258 (60.3) | 434 (65.5) | 213 (61.2) | 45 (56.3) |
| Cyclic-citrillunated peptide (CCP) antibody positive | 256 (59.5) | 446 (65.0) | 206 (59.5) | 50 (59.5) |
| Seropositive (either RF or CCP positive) | 294 (67.7) | 502 (72.4) | 241 (69.0) | 53 (63.1) |
| Steroid usea | 130 (29.8) | 234 (31.9) | 109 (30.9) | 21 (25.0) |
| Non-biologic DMARD | 313 (71.6) | 505 (69.0) | 250 (70.8) | 63 (75.0) |
| Biologic DMARD | 148 (33.9) | 287 (39.2) | 115 (32.6) | 33 (39.3) |
| DAS28 ≤ 3.2 | 156 (35.6) | 236 (32.2) | 135 (38.2) | 21 (24.7) |
| Total Sharp Score | 32.2 (47.8) | N/A | 29.0(43.8) | 45.4 (60.5) |
a
Steroid use defined as current user at baseline.